Adventures of an International Chocolate Lover
by Night0wl
Summary: How kid!Tony met (and moved in with) Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
1. Notes from School

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show.

Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.

 **Chapter 1: Notes From School**

Tony was the most attentive student in Ms. Lillian's first grade class.

It had nothing to do with the fact that Ms. Lillian always wore a bright blue scare-rabbit broach everyday _(Yes, it did)_. It had nothing to do with the fact that Ms. Lillian's hair was red like the fire-trucks he saw on the way to school everyday _(Yes, it did)_. And it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Ms. Lillian wore the same perfume he vaguely remembered his mom wearing _(Yes…it definitely did)_.

Ok. So, none of those were the biggest reason that Tony was the most attentive student in her class. The biggest reason Tony was Ms. Lillian's best and brightest was because every time he did well in class, Ms. Lillian would send a "Super Duper Day" note home.

Tony could barely contain himself on those days. He would eagerly wait in the living room for his new papa, "Jefro," to get home. As soon as his papa walked through the door, Tony would thrust the note into his face and say "I din't wasse good today papa! Wule 5!" Jethro would then immediately read the note, slightly crinkle his eyes while fixing his face into not a smile, ruffle Tony's hair, and say "Atta Boy."

 **AN: "scare-rabbit" = scarab**


	2. Fornell's No Good Very Bad Day

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show.

Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.

 **Chapter 2: One Year Earlier – Tobias Fornell's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day**

Tobias Fornell was having a bad day.

His car was in the shop.

His daughter had called him old-fashioned.

His favorite tie had a spot on it.

His daughter had called him old-fashioned.

His caseload was growing exponentially.

His daughter had called him old-fashioned.

His boss had just given him a new money laundering case.

His daughter had called him old-fashioned.

His alimony check hadn't been sent yet.

And, his daughter had called him old-fashioned.

'Ok.' He thought to himself. 'Time to prioritize.' As Fornell was getting ready for the day, he mentally began crafting his to-do list. 'Once the cab takes me to get my car, I'll run by the post office and then drop off the tie and some suits at the cleaners. After I get some coffee, first thing I'll do is go through the case files and funnel some of that load off to the new rookie Sacks. After lunch, I'll start digging to find out everything I need to know about this POI, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. And, sometime in between all of that, I'll Google what the hell it means to call someone "a salty Susan".'

With this plan of attack in mind, Fornell walked out of his house and started his day. Everything was going pretty well, and he was mentally checking things off of this to-do list, until he started digging into the DiNozzo case.

Fornell's Case Notes:

\- Anthony DiNozzo Sr. is a serial spender and a serial dater, but he's not an embezzler. He has friends in high places, and friends in low place, but when those friends meet, he makes bad decisions.

\- DiNozzo went in on a business plan with two former marines, Lieutenant Michael Graves and Lieutenant Alex Holders, and the plan turned out to be one massive and convoluted pyramid scheme with a side of money laundering.

\- As a result of some poor planning, poor leadership, and poor ethics, one of the marines (Graves) ended up dead, one (Holders) ended up on the run, and DiNozzo ended up with a hit out on him.

\- Being shot at is what probably spooked DiNozzo the most, and is probably the only reason he brought the case to us. (Fornell scratched that part out. He was trying to remain impartial.)

\- DiNozzo Sr. agreed to testify against everyone and everything in exchange for being placed in Witness Protection.

\- Problem 1—his four-year-old son Anthony DiNozzo Jr. DiNozzo loves and values his son, but he loves and values his own butt even more. (Fornell scratched that part out as well. Being impartial was hard.) DiNozzo wants the kid in Witness Protection as well, just not with him. He feels that it would be a bit much to have to constantly be looking over both of their shoulders.

\- Problem 2—separating the father and son would be unprecedented in this situation, but the only way DiNozzo would talk was if the kid was taken care of…and as far away from DiNozzo as possible. (Fornell was going to have to redo his notes because of all of the scratch outs.)

\- Problem 3—the kid definitely had to have some sort of protection seeing as he both saw and spoke to all the member of the embezzlement group.

\- Problem 4—the kid was currently in some holding room at the FBI. No one knew for sure if it was Holders who had put the hit out, so DiNozzo was holed up in some fancy hotel and the kid was here.

\- Problem 5—he was going to have to call Gibbs.

 **AN 1: "POI" = person of interest**

 **AN 2: Thanks to everyone for all of the kudos and comments!**


	3. Buttering People Up

**Disclaimer:** I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show.

Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.

 **Chapter 3 – One Year Earlier – Buttering People Up**

"Ok, kiddo," Fornell was crouched down so he could look Anthony DiNozzo Jr. in the eye.

"You're going to help me butter up some of the people who are going to be helping me with your father's case." Fornell explained.

"What does buffer up mean?" Tony asked.

"It means to try to get someone to like you and to make them happy." Fornell responded.

"Why do we need to buffer tem up?" Tony asked.

"Because if they are happy, they will be more than willing to help us." Fornell responded.

"But I fought that if tey were po-lice officers tey would have to help us anyway?" Tony questioned.

'Smart kid.' Fornell thought.

"They do, but it never hurts to make people extra happy." Fornell finally responded.

"Are tey gonna help keep the bad men away from me and papa?" Tony questioned.

"Yep." Fornell responded.

"Okay." Tony responded after a few seconds. "So what do we do to buffer them up?" He finally asked.

"You're gonna bring them something to drink." Fornell replied with a smirk.

"Thas it?" Tony looked unsure.

"Yep." Tobias responded again.

"Why me?" Tony looked curious.

'Huh,' Fornell thought, 'this kid questions people like a pro.'

"Because you're cute." Fornell finally responded.

"Okay." Tony replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He could be cute. Being cute usually got him candy.

After a few minutes of explanation, Fornell asked, "Now you remember your assignment?"

"Yep!" Tony cried excitedly. Fornell had worded his directions so that it sounded like Tony was an agent.

"Mista Jefro gets da cup wif da J on it firs. Den, Mista Timmony get da cup wif da T on it. Den, Miss Zee gets da cup wif da Z. Den, I gets da small one because it's hot cocolate!" Tony responded proudly.

"Good boy, and what do you when you get there?" Fornell responded.

"Put the hoder on da foor, so I's don't spill any!" Tony answered.

"And where am I gonna be?" Fornell asked

"Talkin to Miss Diwector Jenn." Tony replied.

"And what do you do if you need me?" Fornell followed up.

"Ax Mista Jefro to call you." Tony responded.

"Excellent! Let's go." Then Tobias Fornell and Anthony DiNozzo Jr. were headed off to NCIS.

 **AN 1: I am not the best at writing "kid speak," so I did the best I could.**

 **AN 2: "buffer" = butter**

 **AN 3: "tem" = them**

 **AN 4: "faught" = thought**

 **AN 5: "tey" = they**

 **AN 6: "thas" = that's**

 **AN 7: "Mista" = Mister**

 **AN 8: "wif" = with**

 **AN 9: "firs" = first**

 **AN 10: "hoder" = holder**

 **AN 11: "da" = the**

 **AN 12: "cocolate" = chocolate**

 **AN 13: "foor" = floor**

 **AN 14: "diwector" = director**

 **AN 15: Thanks to everyone for all of the kudos and comments!**


	4. Meeting Jefro

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show.**

 **Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.  
**

* * *

Chapter 4: One Year Earlier – Meeting Jefro

All Gibbs could do was nod. He was paying careful attention to the little boy who had just climbed into his lap. After delivering the coffee to his team, Anthony DiNozzo Jr. had taken a seat on the floor and had started playing with the toy car that had been in his pocket. He had been quietly navigating his toy through a "candy jungle" when Gibbs' papa-bear instincts kicked in and he asked the boy what was in his cup. 'Surely, Tobias hadn't gotten the kid coffee.' He thought. Tony had looked up at Gibbs and had decided that he seemed nice enough. So he climbed into his lap and replied that it was "hot cocolate" and that it was "his fav'rite" and that "Mista Toby" had gotten it for him.

"I wikes cocolate," Tony was carefully explaining, "but I can'ts eat it all time."

"Why can't you eat chocolate all the time?" Gibbs questioned.

"B'cuz if I eat lots of chocolate, den I gets sick and I have ta go to the doctas. I don't wike doctas. Dey say you can getta candy, buts you hafta get a shot firs!" Tony explained.

Gibbs heard someone cackling in the background…it was probably McGee.

"Umm. Mista Jefro? Are you all buffered up now?" Tony asked shyly.

Gibbs had no idea what that meant. "Buffered up?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," Tony replied. "Mista Toby says you hafta buffer people up so dey can be weally nice and do tings for you. So we had to buffer you up wif coffee!"

Another cackle…definitely McGee.

"Well, yeah, buddy. I think I'm all buttered up now." Gibbs replied.

"Goods." Tony said firmly. "Cuz you hafta help Mista Toby catched da bad guys that are afta me and papa."

"I will try my hardest buddy." Gibbs replied. "But, I heard that you saw the bad guys' faces, so I think I may need your help too."

Tony looked skeptical. "Am I gonna hafta be a NISC ajint now? Cuz I was already bein a BFI ajint when I boughts da coffee. I can't have two jobs Mista Jefro! I'll never ever be able ta go home and pay wif my toys!"

If McGee cackled one more time, Gibbs was going to send him downstairs to help the "baggy bunnies" do inventory.

'Well how about this," Gibbs explained, "When you're with Mr. Tobias you can be an FBI agent, and when you're with me you can be an NCIS agent."

Tony still looked skeptical. "What happens if I'm wif botha you?"

'Huh,' Gibbs thought, 'Fornell was right. Kid's sharp as a tack.'

"Well," Gibbs finally replied, "even if you're with both of us, you're still an NCIS agent."

Now Tony looked downright confused. "Why?"

"Rule 38. My case, my lead. That means that even if Mr. Tobias and I are together. I'm still in charge." Gibbs replied.

"I neva learned dat wule in school." Tony went back to looking skeptical.

"Nope," Gibbs replied while leaning back in his chair, making sure to look Tony right in the eyes, "that's my rule."

"Oooo," Tony nodded, "Do you have lotsa wules Mista Jefro?" Tony asked.

"Not that many," Gibbs replied.

"Ok," Tony replied. However, a few minutes later, the skeptical look was back, "Am I gonna hafta learn all your wules Mista Jefro? Are dere any bout cocolate?" he finally asked.

'That's it!' Gibbs thought after hearing yet another cackle. 'Tomorrow, I lace McGee's coffee with salt.' He then glanced at the kid in his lap. 'I'll get Tony to deliver it.'

 **AN 1:** Again, thanks for putting up with my horrible "kids speak"


	5. A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or anything associated with it. No money is being made from this work. Also, I messed around with the NCIS timeline. So, there will be familiar elements, they just may not be in the order, or context from the actual show.**

 **Fiction (n) – invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: One Year Earlier – A Familiar Face**

The next day Gibbs entered the bullpen 30 minutes early. He was wearing his favorite sears outfit, and he had two cups in his hand—one a large coffee, the other a small hot chocolate. He walked to his desk, signed in to his computer, and began [slowly] checking his messages.

15 minutes later, Gibbs looked up when he heard the elevator ding. McGee and Ziva were getting off, chatting about some movie Abby had dragged them to see the pervious night. Gibbs grunted and went back to [slowly] responding to his messages.

30 minutes later, the elevator dinged again. This time, however, when Gibbs looked up, he didn't see anything. For a moment, he was puzzled. But then he heard quick footsteps and high-pitched voiced saying "Mista Jefro! Mista Jefro! I's here!" Gibbs chuckled. He might not be able to see Tony, but he sure could hear him.

"Hey buddy! You ready to get to work?" Gibbs asked as the kid climbed into his lap.

"Uh-huh!" Tony replied ecstatically. "Mista Toby gots me a SCIN badge an evryting!"

"Good job buddy!" Gibbs replied. "Ok, so today we're going to be looking through a lot of pictures, and if you see anyone that looks familiar, you let me know, ok?"

"Uh-huh" Tony replied. Then he pulled a tablet and a pencil out of his backpack and exclaimed "I even gots a not-pad so's I can make notes in da case pile"

Gibbs decided that McGee was only allowed 5 cackles today. He was already down one. Gibbs rolled his eyes at his probie, grabbed the binder of mug shots, and begin going through them with the kid.

Tony had the best intentions, but he was 4 and he had the attention span of…well…a four year old. So after much wrangling, Gibbs had resorted to bribery. He promised the kid that for every book of pictures that they went through, he would buy him a hot chocolate. Still, the kid was bored with a capital B.

So, Tony did the only logical thing a four year old could do. He started asking questions.

"Are des all bad guys?"

"What did dat guy do?"

"Why dos dat guy hab a picter on his face?"

"Can I gets a picter on my face?"

Gibbs tried to keep the answers as PG as possible.

"Yes, they're all bad guys."

"That guy stole a lot of…candy…from some…candy…sellers."

"That guy has a picture on his face because he's an idiot."

"No, only bad guys get pictures on their faces."

Finally, somewhere in between McGee's maniacal cackling, Ziva's methodical knife-cleaning, and Tony's moaning about wanting more hot chocolate, they came across a picture that shut Tony up with a quickness. Gibb's had been zoning in and out of the conversation with the kid, but quickly became alert when the kid's ramblings suddenly stopped. He looked at the picture that Tony had stopped at, and covertly gave McGee a heads up to start looking into the man who's picture they'd stopped on.

"Ummm…Mista Jefro?" Tony asked confusedly. "I fought you said des were all bad guys."

"They are all bad guys buddy." Gibbs replied assuredly.

"Nu-huh. Dis isn't a bad guy. Dis is my docta. He's Docta Louis. He cleans my teeth. See!" Tony replied, smiling widely, and showing of his clean teeth.

'Well…hell.' Gibbs thought at he gazed at the profile picture of one Stephen Holders, brother to ****.

Gibb's Case Notes:

\- The guy was a dentist who invested in DiNozzo's pyramid scheme

\- The money he invested was for drug dealers

\- Tony didn't pick the guy out because he was a bad guy, but because he knew who it was.

\- Problem 1—Gibbs now had to explain that Dr. Louis was a bad man and that if Tony ever saw him in public, he should come find Gibbs immediately.

\- Problem 2—The guy had a list of Tony's allergies, his medical history, and his contact info.

\- Problem 3—Gibbs needed coffee.

\- Problem 4—If Gibbs got coffee, he would have to get the kid a hot chocolate.

\- Problem 5—Gibbs was going to actually have to have a conversation with the kid about his chocolate addiction.

\- Problem 6 – McGee was going to have a permanent tickle in his throat if he kept cackling so much.


End file.
